


favours

by plastic--hearts (paperxvalentines)



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkwardness, First Meetings, M/M, Neighbors, idk man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 12:17:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16197380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperxvalentines/pseuds/plastic--hearts
Summary: Bin's got his eye on his neighbour across the hall, but he doesn't expect their first meeting to be with him at Bin's doorstep, asking if he could use his shower.





	favours

**Author's Note:**

> this prompt was just too bizarre to not be a Binu fic
> 
> this fic is late, technically, but there will be another one up later today so it's cool

It was a Friday night and Bin had no plans, as usual. None whatsoever.

Well, okay. That was a bit of an exaggeration. He was waiting for his friend Minhyuk to come over so that they could play video games and spend the whole night on the couch, but in the meanwhile, he was simply lounging on the couch, scrolling through his Instagram feed as he waited.

A knock on his door drew him away from her another puppy video and he locked his phone before tossing it aside, calling out a “Coming!” as he pushed himself up onto his feet.

Expecting to see Minhyuk with his ratty black bag, Bin swung the door open and promptly froze at the sight.

Standing on the other side of the door was his neighbour from across the hall, who also happened to be the man who caused Bin to walk straight into the elevator doors the first time he saw him.

“Uh, hi,” his neighbour greeted him, a nervous smile on his face. “I'm Dongmin. I live across the hall from you.”

“I know,” Bin replied before promptly clearing his throat. “Um, I’m Bin.”

“Nice to meet you. Uh…” Dongmin’s smile got even more nervous, if that was possible, and he scratched the back of his head. “This is kind of weird, but my shower isn't working and I have a date tonight, and I was wondering if I could- if I could use yours?”

Bin couldn't help the laugh of disbelief that was pushed out of him. “Wait, what?!”

“Yeah, um, the shower head is broken and it was _supposed_ to be fixed today but as you can see it still isn't,” Dongmin quickly explained, cheeks flushing. “I- I came to you because I’m kinda assuming we’re around the same age and it would be really weird to ask one of the aunties next door and- I understand if it's too weird and you're not comfortable with it.”

For a moment, Bin didn't say anything. He simply averted his gaze and pondered the question for a second. If he denied Dongmin, then he wouldn't be able to look good for his date so it might not work out, giving Bin a chance to swoop in and mend his broken heart.

But on the other hand, if he was to deny him, Dongmin might just end up _resenting_ him, and that was an outcome Bin absolutely did not want to face.

So, turning his attention back to Dongmin, Bin nodded. “It’s not a problem! I'm running low on shampoo though, just so you know.”

“Oh, I was actually gonna grab my own stuff from my bathroom, is that okay?”

Bin mentally face palmed. Who would use a stranger’s shower products? “Yeah, of course!”

 

After Dongmin got his stuff from his apartment, Bin showed him to the bathroom before plopping down on the couch once again. Before he even got the chance to get comfortable, someone else knocked on the door and Bin groaned as he got back onto his feet to open it and let Minhyuk - and a giant box of pizza - in.

“I’m tired of your cheap ass and only eating ramen,” he explained, putting the pizza down onto the coffee table after having kicked his shoes off at the door. “It’s so unhealthy, too.”

“Says the one who just brought pizza,” Bin teased, earning himself a kick to the shin.

Grumbling, he sat down on the wooden floor, backs resting against the couch, and picked up his controller while Minhyuk set up the game and his own controller. Bin had told him numerous times that he could just use one of his but Minhyuk always refused, insisting that his own was “better” in some way or another. Bin had stopped listening to his arguments a long time ago.

They were deep into a second round of their warm-up game (Super Smash Bros, which they inevitably ended up playing for way longer than a simple warm-up) when the door to the bathroom opened with the telltale clicking noise. Minhyuk paused the game then looked over at Bin, a wary frown on his face, then over towards the bathroom door.

“Bin,” Minhyuk hissed, turning back to his best friend. “Why is there a man in your bathroom?”

Bin only had time to respond with a “Shut up,” before Dongmin was in the living room, awkwardly standing by the couch. In his arms were various shower products and two towels, but Bin didn’t care about that. Instead, he was focused on Dongmin himself. He was wearing a black button-down shirt with intricate but barely noticeable detailing and black pants that emphasised his long legs. If Bin looked carefully, he swore that he could make out a tad of eyeliner rimming Dongmin’s brown eyes.

Bin gulped. “Uh, did everything go okay?”

Dongmin nodded. “Yeah. Thank you, seriously. I owe you.”

“Don't worry about it,” Bin smiled, trying desperately not to show that he was suffering. “Good luck tonight!”

Chuckling, Dongmin lifted his hand to run it through his hair but stopped as he realised he had done it up. “Thanks. Um, I'll be going then.”

Bin just nodded, moving to get up to walk Dongmin out, but the other man protested. “No don't worry, you don't have to walk me out. Thank you, though. Again.”

“Yeah, no worries.”

With that, Dongmin flashed them both a smile and a slight bow before walking out of the apartment.

Bin slumped back against the couch, closing his eyes for a brief second.

Then Minhyuk started laughing. He laughed and laughed, clutching his stomach, until Bin reached up for a pillow and smacked him with it. Hard.

“Shut up!” Bin whined, and smacked him again.

“So, your hot neighbour? The ‘so hot I walked into a door’ neighbour?” Minhyuk wheezed. “That was the most _awkward_ interaction I've ever seen. Why was he in your bathroom?” Within a second, Minhyuk’s sharp eyes were wide, and he sat up onto his knees. “Oh my god. Did you guys-”

“No!” Bin yelled, smacking a hand across Minhyuk mouth. “Oh my god. He just asked if he could use my shower because his is broken.”

“‘Broken,’” Minhyuk repeated, air-quotes punctuating his word. “Alright.”

 

\---

 

**trash bin**

minhyuk help me

 

**rock boy**

Whats good

 

**trash bin**

uh

dongmin

*hot neighbour

left a towel here

 

**rock boy**

A towel?

Of all things

 

**trash bin**

ikr

but like

wat do i do

 

**rock boy**

Go give it back idiot

 

**trash bin**

but then i have to face him

 

**rock boy**

Shut up and do it

 

Bin sighed, locking his phone. There really wasn’t much else he could do but go over and hand over the towel. Well, he could _keep_ it, but Dongmin would notice it’s missing as some point and come ask for it, and then it would just be weird that he had kept it all this time. Dongmin would think that he either a) did not care for his possessions and didn’t notice something new or b) kept it because he was weird. Bin wasn’t _weird_. Okay, in some ways maybe he was, but he wasn’t creepy, and keeping your neighbour’s towel just because he was hot and you were intimidated is creepy.

So, with the butterflies in his stomach having a riot, Bin took the purple towel across the hall and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, the door opened, Dongmin standing on the other side. He looked completely different than he did the last time Bin had seen him: his hair was slightly dishevelled and on his nose rested big glasses, similar to Bin’s own.

“Hi, sorry to bother you,” Bin said. He extended the hand holding the towel as he continued, “I noticed you left this in my bathroom last night, so uh… I figured you’d want it back.”

“Oh yes, thank you,” Dongmin replied, face flushing as he took the towel from Bin. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, it happens to the best of us.” Bin shot him a smile, hoping it was reassuring. It was probably just awkward.

“Um, I was- I was just making lunch, would you like to join me?”

Bin’s eyes widened at the suggestion. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”

“No, no, it’s okay!” Dongmin smiled, moving aside so Bin could step in. “I owe you anyways. It’s just leftovers, though.”

After a moment of hesitation, Bin stepped in, painfully aware that he had walked over in only his socks, and followed Dongmin down to the kitchen area. The apartment was set up exactly like a mirror-image of Bin’s, except it was much, _much_ neater. Everything was well coordinated - whites and greys and blues coming together beautifully - and everything seemed to have its place. Bin, on the other hand, felt very out of place in his bright red hoodie and mismatched socks.

“It’s just rice and vegetables,” Dongmin said, peering through his fridge. “It’s not much…”

“It’s free food,” Bin chuckled. “It saves me having to make myself some. I’m not picky either, I’ll really eat anything.”

Dongmin looked over the fridge door at Bin and smiled, eyes crinkling in a way that had Bin’s heart racing. “I guess you’re right.”

Bin cleared his throat, looked around the apartment a bit more, then asked, “How did your date go?”

Dongmin looked up from the rice he was scooping onto two plates and shrugged. “It was alright. I don’t think there’ll be a second date, though.”

“Oh?” Every fibre of Bin’s being was yelling at him, telling him to take a chance. He didn’t even know if Dongmin was into guys! “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Oh it’s alright!” Dongmin shook his head. “I’m really not torn up about it. My friend set us up and I didn’t really have high hopes from the start, but I figured I’d get it over and done with.”

Bin hummed in response. They stood in silence for a bit as Dongmin reheated the food. Once it was done, he handed Bin a plate and they sat down at his small table on opposite sides from one another. The conversation never got too deep, but it was easy to talk to Dongmin, and within minutes he was laughing loudly at Bin’s stupid jokes. Bin, despite stumbling over his words and knocking over salt shakers, felt his heart soar in his chest each time Dongmin laughed.

Time passed by quickly, but a lull in the conversation made Bin check the time on the clock hanging on the wall by the table. He couldn’t hide the surprise in his voice when he said, “Jeez, I’ve been here for almost two hours!”

Dongmin followed his line of vision up to the clock. “I guess time flies when you’re having fun,” he commented, and Bin couldn’t help but laugh at the corny line.

“I guess so,” he answered around a laugh. “I should be heading back, though. I have a few things I need to get done before tomorrow, and I know I’m not going to get them done if I wait any longer.”

“That’s alright, so do I,” Dongmin said, before averting his gaze away from Bin. “I had a good time, though.”

Bin raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Me too. We should hang out more often.”

“Yeah, we should,” Dongmin agreed. He lifted his eyes to meet Bin’s once again and smiled. “Let me give you my phone number.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've missed writing Binu so much sdfgsg why did I ever stop
> 
> as always, find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/kiwikihyuk), [tumblr](http://plastic--hearts.tumblr.com/) and [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/plastic__hearts)!


End file.
